Buffalo Trace distilled this whiskey from its wheated recipe — Kentucky corn of distillers grade #1 and #2, North Dakota wheat and North Dakota malted barley, with the wheat standing where rye sits in the distillery's other Antique Collection bourbons. It came off the beer still and doubler at 130 proof and went into new white oak in the spring of 2003, #4 char burned for fifty-five seconds, coopered by Independent Stave in 53-gallon barrels, at a barrel entry proof of 114. That entry figure is the one worth noticing: the same 2016 sheet records 125 for every other bottle in the set, so less water went into these barrels before the wood got to work. The whiskey then spent twelve years and seven months on the third and sixth floors of Warehouses D, K and L, where 65.4% of the original fill was lost to evaporation. Buffalo Trace selected 145 barrels, added nothing and filtered nothing, and the 135.4 proof in the bottle is what that selection measured.

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

What proof is the 2016 William Larue Weller?

135.4 proof, or 67.7% ABV. William Larue Weller is bottled uncut and unfiltered, so the figure is whatever that year's barrel selection reached rather than a house strength, and it moves with every release. Across the barrel-proof run that began in 2005, only the 2014 at 140.2 proof and the 2013 at 136.2 have come in higher.

How old is the 2016 William Larue Weller?

Twelve years and seven months at bottling. Buffalo Trace filled the barrels in the spring of 2003 at an entry strength of 114 proof and drew them from the third and sixth floors of Warehouses D, K and L, where 65.4% of the original fill was lost to evaporation. The whiskey came off the still at 130 proof and went into the bottle at 135.4.

Why is William Larue Weller the only wheated bourbon in the Antique Collection?

Because it is the collection's Weller entry, and the Weller recipe is the wheated one: wheat stands in for rye as the secondary grain alongside corn and malted barley. The other bourbons in the 2016 set, George T. Stagg and Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old, are built on rye recipes, as are the two ryes released with them. Buffalo Trace names the grains behind each bottle, and the wheat is what separates this one from the rest of the set.